Saturday, Sunday
by AmyNW
Summary: COMPLETE! A 5-chapter "Lofty Dreams" vignette. Hunsford from Will's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**SATURDAY, SUNDAY**

**A "Lofty Dreams" vignette – Hunsford from Will's POV**

**Chapter I: Saturday**

On Sunday morning, Will lunged forward on his right leg in order to stretch his left hamstring, and tried to calm his nerves. Where was Liz? She hadn't ever been late for their morning run. The sun would be up soon, which would diminish the impact of his carefully made plans.

He thought about the emotional roller coaster of the last week. It had been completely unexpected. He'd come to the LOFTY (Leaders of the Future: Today's Youth) Dreams retreat at Hunsford hoping to have fun and get to know both Anna and Liz better. They were both pretty hot, and if events led to more of a relationship with either one of them, he'd be satisfied.

Truthfully, he'd thought it was more likely to occur with Anna. Mike, Heather, Anna and he had been hanging out before the monthly LOFTY meetings, and Anna was definitely letting him know she was interested. But it wasn't long before his interest in her ended. For one thing, she was always trying to impress him, instead of being herself. For another, she and Heather liked to gossip and make fun of the other kids in the program. That was a real turn-off for him.

On the other hand, there was Liz. He'd thought she was beautiful from the first time he saw her. She had silky dark brown eyes and a smile that lit up her face with deep dimples and full lips that were just begging to be kissed. She was tall but feminine, with curves in all the right places, and beautiful, shapely legs from running. Unlike with Anna, as the week went on, his attraction to Liz kept growing.

He was attracted to more than just her looks, though. He'd first realized it on Monday morning, when Liz had stopped running to look at the lake during the sunrise. He'd been enthralled as he watched her face while she admired a bird's gentle flight over the water. What had drawn him so much? It was the look of joy on her face. Something as simple as the sunrise and a bird had made her feel so happy.

When was the last time he had felt really happy? It had been at least two years. No matter how much he tried to joke around and act cool, an emptiness and sorrow had pervaded him since his father's death.

The sadness filled his home life also. Sometimes his younger sister Jenny was in a good mood, and they'd have great talks. She was one of the few people in his life, along with his godfather Marcus and his cousin Chuck, whom he could be open with. But at other times, dark emotions would overtake Jenny, and she'd hide in her room for days on end. For their mother's sake, Will had never admitted how much Jenny's depression scared him.

Then there was his mother. Although he knew his mom loved him and Jenny, she had always been a somewhat stern and business-like person. His dad had been the fun, affectionate parent. Since his dad's death, however, and especially since she'd learned about how his former foster brother George had taken advantage of Jenny, his mom had become bitter and angry about the direction her life had taken.

Because of his respect for his parents and his commitment to sports, Will avoided drinking and drugs. Thus, one of the few avenues of relief from his melancholy was sex. Girls of all races had always liked him. He knew he was good-looking and that girls were attracted to his "pretty eyes." Will had become sexually active not long after his father's death. However, his emotions were fickle and his dating relationships short-lived. Actual romance with girls still remained a mystery to him.

He was hoping to change that with Liz. He loved spending time with her. She laughed easily, most often at herself. She was honest to the point of bluntness, but never in a mean-spirited way. She made him feel as though he could share anything with her.

On Friday, he had tried to stay out of a discussion about race relations in the LOFTY meeting in the morning, and later that afternoon got in a conflict with Abner, the only other African-American guy in the program, when Abner said he didn't know what it meant to be black. It reminded him of some of the fights he used to have with George, which were still a raw wound with him.

But Liz had helped. She'd left to follow him instead of staying with Abner in the weight room where the argument had taken place, and she'd called Abner a jerk for his behavior. He smiled, remembering it. Abner and Liz were good friends, and Will had wondered on more than one occasion whether they liked each other. But by her response, that particular fear had gone away.

Liz had asked him about the argument. "I'm not trying to put you on the defensive, Will," she said. "I just wonder why race issues are so difficult for you to talk about."

Her gentle expression made him feel safe. "You know that I'm the only African-American guy in my class, Liz?"

"Wow," she said quietly.

"Yeah, there are three black girls, and me. So whenever anything about race comes up, it seems like my teachers or other kids always want me to answer for black people as a whole, or for black males specifically.

"I don't feel like I can do that. Despite what Abner says, it's not that I don't know I'm black or I'm not proud of it, because I am. I just don't feel like I can answer for anyone but myself. So I get tired of the topic. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does," she said.

He had never been able to articulate these feelings before, and he wondered how she felt, because her opinion was important to him. "So what do you think?"

"About what Abner said? I think it's stupid," she answered. That didn't help, since he wasn't sure what she meant.

Liz must have noticed his perplexed look, because she explained further. "Everybody's different, Will. How can anyone say there's one set of experiences you have to have, or else you're not black? That's just silly. People should just be able to be themselves." She grinned at him. "Anyway, I don't think you look in the mirror and see a white guy, if that's what you're asking. Like you said, you couldn't grow up in Pemberley and not know."

Will smiled again as he remembered this. Liz had made him feel completely understood and accepted. That was why he'd answered her when she asked him about his father on Saturday morning. His dad was a subject he almost never discussed with anyone, mostly because he was afraid of breaking down.

Liz had listened intently as he shared some of his memories of his father. He'd felt her sympathetic presence as he gave her a piece of his heart. Now he felt confident he could trust her with his whole heart.

Until now, he hadn't wanted to reveal his feelings. It was pretty obvious Anna liked him; Liz, he wasn't so sure about. She either ignored or didn't notice his attempts to flirt with her, including backing out of her promise to watch him run early in the week, and inviting someone else—Abner!—in response to his invitation to view the sunset. They'd had fun talking and getting to know each other, but Liz seemed to have the same easy rapport with most of the kids in the program. When you coupled that with all the slammed doors on his flirtations attempts, he had no reason to think she considered him more than a friend.

On Friday afternoon, however, he'd hugged her after her great 200 meter dash in practice. He'd seen her sweet expression and felt the sparks between them when he held her, and he started to believe that maybe, just maybe she liked him as much as he liked her.

The rest of Saturday was a crazy day, continuing to jumble his emotions. At lunchtime, Liz had canceled their afternoon workout and he'd snapped at her because of it. Afterward, Anna, Mike and Heather had made fun of Liz's obviously hurt reaction, even though they didn't know the content of their conversation.

He'd walked away from them in a huff, wondering, not for the first time, why he was friends with people whose company he often found unpleasant. To calm down, he'd gone running. When he reached the lake, he sat down on a rock near the edge of the water and picked at blades of tall grass, trying to figure out how a day he'd had so much hope for had gone so wrong.

The problem began, he knew, with his petulant response to Liz's cancelation of their workout. He had looked forward to spending time with her on their last day—but she had made it clear she had wanted to be with her friends, not him. He was understandably disappointed, but his reaction was inexcusable. What if instead he had told her about his desire to spend time with her, or even asked if he could tag along with her friends? She might have been open to either idea. At the very least, he wouldn't have hurt her feelings, or made her a target for his friends' ridicule.

After moping for a while and accomplishing nothing except generating disgust for his stupidity, he decided to return to the dorm where he napped for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner that evening was again an uncomfortable affair. Mike and Heather cracked jokes as usual, while Will looked longingly at the table where the other six LOFTY Dreams kids sat. He envied them—they seemed to be having such a good time, and more important, Liz was with them.

Anna was oddly quiet, watching him observe Liz with concern on her face. He'd known for a while that she was aware of his interest in the other girl, but that hadn't stopped her attempts to flirt with him, perhaps thinking her charms were enough to overcome Liz's. Maybe she finally realized she had no chance.

When he stood up to drop off his tray and dishes on the conveyor belt to the kitchen, Liz approached him again. He held his breath, afraid she was mad at him, but exhaled when he saw her smile gently.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon, but thanks for understanding," she said. "We had a really good time."

He nodded, a little ashamed in light of her statement, for he certainly had _not _been understanding.

"Are we still on for the morning?"

"Running?" he asked stupidly.

She grinned. "What else?"

He met her eyes, soft and sparkling with humor, and nodded.

Her face lit up in a huge smile. "Good! I'm looking forward to it!"

He watched her walk away, his face warm and his heart beating quickly. She was looking forward to the morning, to running with him. He had another chance!

As he started back to the dorm, Anna ran to join him. She was still quieter than usual, and he didn't attempt to make up for her lack of conversation. Finally, she blurted out an invitation to her prom.

His first instinct was to laugh with derision and tell her he had no interest in going to her prom or anywhere else with her. But thinking about Liz and how sweet she had been with him, even though he didn't deserve it, restrained him. "When is it?" he asked instead.

He sighed with relief at her answer, and then thanked Anna, but told her that his own prom was the same night and he already had a date.

That was only partially true. He and Kayla, a long-time friend who served as senior class vice-president while he was president, had agreed to go to the prom together only if neither of them had another date. In other words, they were both free to cancel with one another if a better offer came along. The truth was, he didn't consider Anna a better offer. He wanted to save that spot for Liz.

He was already planning how he would ask her. When they ran in the morning, he would stop her by the same spot where they had first watched the sunrise together. He would tell her all the reasons why he liked her. He'd tell her how beautiful he thought she was. He'd ask her to dinner, the movies, the prom, anywhere where he could spend time with her. And he'd kiss those beautiful lips of hers.

On Saturday night after curfew, when all the guys were in the hallway on their floor, poor Pete was getting razzed by the rest of them while he tried to work up the courage to ask out Kathy, one of the girls in the program.

"So what about you?" Mike had asked him. "Are you hooking up with Anna when this is over?"

"Nah, not interested," Will replied.

"Why not?" Mike asked. "She's ready to give you whatever you want."

That jerk Abner had to speak up. "I know why not. It's because you like Liz, right, Will?"

Will shook his head, trying to feign nonchalance because he didn't want anyone else to know until he had spoken to Liz herself. But he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.

"Look at your face!" Nathan had shouted.

Abner started laughing. "Dang, I was just guessing. I hit the bull's eye!"

Will let out several loud expletives as the razzing that had been directed at Pete turned on him.

Abner held up his hands and laughed. "Just so you know, I'm not your competition, man. I have a girlfriend back home. Liz and I are just friends."

Will wanted to punch Abner. Or better yet, himself. Why couldn't he hide his emotions better? That's how Abner had figured it out—because he had seen Will's jealousy of him.

Mike had remained quiet throughout. When the rest of the guys settled down, he said, "What do you see in Liz?"

Will was taken aback by his critical tone. "Let's see, she's pretty and she has a nice body. Why are you asking?"

"What, do you plan to take her out to Pemberley or something? You think a girl from Longbourn City is going to fit in out there?"

Pete and Nathan looked a little astonished by the direction of the conversation, while Abner said, "Aw, no. I don't believe you just said that."

"I'll take her wherever I want to take her," Will retorted.

"You think your mother would approve of that? Come on, Will! She has street written all over her."

"You're pushing it, Mike," Abner said in a threatening voice.

"Shut up, Abner," Will said. "Mike, who I decide to be with is none of your damn business."

"What about Anna? Is she my damn business? Because she's my friend, and you've been letting her think you liked her. Now you're telling me you want to pursue ghetto girl?"

"Oh, HELL NO!" Abner shouted.

"I said stay OUT OF THIS, ABNER!" Will shouted back.

At this point, Pete went to summon Paul, one of the program's counselors, from his room. When he emerged, Will and Mike were in a shouting match. "Both of you, go to your rooms and cool down!" Paul ordered.

Will had brooded in his room that night. Was Mike right? He previously hadn't thought of any of the objections Mike had raised. Liz was from Longbourn City, a low-income inner-city neighborhood. Will lived in Pemberley, one of Meryton's wealthiest suburbs. Will's mother had grown up in Longbourn City and had told him horror stories of the place she'd vowed never to return to. But she'd allowed the old neighborhood back in when they'd taken in George as a foster child. George had brought the street life and all its dysfunction into their home, and his mom had sworn, "Never again." Mike was right; she wouldn't approve.

Then there was Janelle, Liz's sister. As beautiful if not more so than Liz, she had seemed like such a nice girl when his cousin Chuck first started dating her. After about four months, though, she had started messing around behind Chuck's back and had broken his heart. Is that what he would have to look forward to with Liz?

Now as Will waited anxiously for Liz to arrive for their Sunday morning run, he knew he still wanted her, still cared for her deeply. But he was no longer so confident that this relationship was meant to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Early Sunday Morning**

Liz finally arrived, and Will's heart started beating faster as soon as he saw her. "I was wondering when you were going to show up," he said.

Without acknowledging him, Liz took off running. Will shouted, "Wait up!"

He wasn't sure what Liz was trying to do. Race him? Yeah, her speed and stamina had improved a lot over the course of the week, but he was still faster. So he treated it as a joke, catching up to her, then letting her surge ahead again.

Suddenly Liz tripped and fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Will was by her side in an instant. Liz was gasping, so Will placed his hand on her back as he knelt beside her. "Try to take some slow deep breaths," he said.

When her breathing became more even, he helped her stand up. "It's my right ankle," she told him, as she gritted her teeth in pain.

Will helped Liz walk over and sit down on one of the benches that lined the path. Sitting beside her, he lifted her right leg onto his knee. After examining her ankle, he determined that it was only twisted.

As they sat on the bench, Will thought to himself that this wasn't exactly what he had planned. The sun was now completely up and they were nowhere near the lake. But it was now or never, because he felt himself losing courage as each minute passed. Will rested his hand on Liz's shin and looked at her. "This is good, because I wanted a chance to talk to you anyway, Liz.

"I know it seems crazy," he went on. "Some people wonder what I see in you. But I really like you, a lot. I'm hoping we can go out sometime after we get back."

He winced inside right after he said the words. Somehow, he'd managed to forget the speech he'd practiced about how much he liked her, and all he could think of were the objections Mike had raised. He was afraid to see her reaction, but he forced himself to look at her face.

She looked a little surprised, but not angry, which was a relief. He was so close to her face, and he kept thinking how pretty she was and how much he wanted to kiss her. So he did.

Will felt as though he were on cloud nine when Liz reached out her hands to pull him closer, and when she met his tongue with her own.

When he finally pulled back, Will touched Liz's face and smiled. "I guess that's a yes, huh?"

Liz started shaking her head. "Will, I will NEVER go out with you."

Will couldn't have been more stunned had she slapped him. "Wait a minute. You were just kissing me, too. That wasn't my imagination."

"No, it was a mistake," she snapped.

Now his pride was wounded, and he snapped back. "What's with this attitude? You know how many girls would love to go out with me? I don't know how many guys are lining up at your door."

Will shocked himself with his words. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be telling Liz how much he cared about her, and all that was coming out were insults. And Liz, furious, screamed that he was the last person on earth she would ever go out with.

If her earlier words felt like a slap, this felt like a stab in the heart. He recalled all the moments of rejection by her that week—walking out on his hurdling, mocking his sunset invitation, canceling their last workout. She had clearly been stringing him along, but like a fool, he had kept coming back for more.

Hurt and trying desperately to save his ego, he lashed out at Liz. She yelled back about him causing his cousin Chuck to break up her sister Janelle—which was true, but there were reasons for that—and then she crushed him with her next accusation: that he had ruined his former foster brother's life. In an instant he was back in the rage and humiliation he'd felt months ago at the LOFTY Dreams welcome dinner when he'd seen her and George together, laughing at him.

Liz kept ranting that Will had gotten George kicked out of their home, that Will had denied George his chance to go to school, and that all of George's problems were his fault.

Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked at Liz coldly. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know more than I want to know about you."

The look of loathing on her face crushed all his hopes. "Fine. Forget I said anything," he said. He tossed Liz's shoe and sock onto the bench next to her, and took off running down the path.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Early Sunday Morning**

Will ran faster and farther than he had before, into the woods that surrounded the Hunsford Retreat Center. He ran until he was exhausted. He stopped, bending and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. What on earth had happened back there? Why had she reacted like that when she'd kissed him too? Maybe he'd imagined the look she gave him on Friday afternoon, but he hadn't imagined her kiss.

What kind of game was Liz playing? She had been screwing with his mind since he met her, laughing at him with George, trying to make him jealous with Abner, kissing him only to go off on him. No girl had ever made him feel this crazy or this lost.

He thought about Liz's accusations. Janelle? How could she blame him for Chuck's break-up with Janelle, when Janelle had been the one who'd cheated? And George had filled Liz's head with lies. He'd obviously spent a lot more time talking to her than the night he'd seen them at the hotel. He was enraged at George, who always hurt the women he loved: his mom, his sister, and now Liz.

There, he'd thought it: He loved Liz. He really loved her. That's why this hurt so much. And even though she hadn't been his girlfriend, he now knew what Chuck felt when Janelle betrayed him. He felt heartbroken.

He was soaked with sweat and needed a shower. He started walking back to the dormitory, still furious, praying that no one got in his way.

If he had been stopped by any of the other guys, Will might have hit him. But it was Pete, gentle, quiet Pete, who met him at the entrance of the dorm and told him Paul wanted everyone to meet in the lounge.

"I have to shower," Will said.

"No time," Pete answered. "Paul wants to meet with us now."

_They'll just have to put up with my smell_, Will thought. He didn't care.

Will leaned against a back wall, away from everyone else who was sitting down, and half-listened as Paul berated them for their juvenile behavior and conflicts. When Paul mentioned that Liz and Anna had had a fight, Will suddenly came to full attention. It just occurred to him that Liz and Anna weren't in the room. They had been fighting? About what?

As soon as he asked himself the question, he knew the answer. They had been fighting about him.

"What's going to happen to them?" Heather asked.

"Well, they signed a contract that stipulates that fighting is cause for termination," Paul answered. "So this means they'll be asked to leave the program."

Will's first thought was selfish. If Liz had to leave the LOFTY Dreams program, he might never see her again. The anger and hurt he'd felt earlier was forgotten. His fear of losing her was enough to make him cry out against what Paul was saying.

His second thought was more selfless. If Liz had to leave the program, she would lose her scholarship. She was one of the students who needed it financially. Without it, she wouldn't be able to go to college. And Anna—Anna had talked about needing it too, at least to attend a private college.

"No, no, you can't do that!" Will shouted.

Everyone turned and stared at him. "You have something to say, Will?" Paul asked.

If there was one thing Will hated, it was being the center of attention when he felt out of control. His emotions were chaotic, and he was sure everyone else in the room could see it. But screw it. For once in his life, he wasn't going to care what other people thought. He had to say something; it was the only chance Liz and Anna had.

"You can't kick them out. They need those scholarships!" he said.

"They signed a contract, Will," Paul replied. "They knew this could happen."

"Let me talk to Sheila, then!" Will countered, asking for the program's director. "I want to talk to her about this."

Paul was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "OK, I'll go get her."

While they waited for Paul to return with Sheila, Will tried to calm his thoughts. His dad had been a lawyer. If this were one of his father's cases and he had to defend Liz and Anna, what would he say? Will thought through some arguments in their favor, not as much as he wanted to by the time Paul and Sheila returned, but enough that maybe it would make a difference.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Sunday Mid-Morning**

Sheila entered the lounge with Paul. The other eight students were in the room, with most sitting on the sofa, chairs or floor. Will was still standing and leaning against a back wall.

"We were talking about the likely consequence for Anna and Liz, and someone raised some objections. I thought you should hear them," Paul said.

Sheila nodded, and Paul said, "Go on, Will."

Will stepped forward and took a deep breath. "When we talked about criminal justice this week, one of the things we discussed was what really makes the system just. I don't think making Liz and Anna leave the program would be just."

"Why not?" Sheila asked.

"Because it has such long-term consequences. You're talking about their college educations and their whole futures that are now at-risk or maybe even over because of a one-time thing."

"That's true any time someone breaks a law, though, isn't it?" Sheila asked.

"Yeah, but we didn't have any input into those laws. That's another thing you taught us—that we all have the right to have input into the rules and laws of our community. Well, this is our community," Will said, looking around at the other students. "We should have some say in this."

"I seem to remember some of you complaining about the 'no sex' rule."

"Yes, but that was a joke. This is serious." There was a note of desperation in Will's voice.

Sheila thought for a moment. "Okay, Will, that makes sense. This is your community here. So I'd like to hear from the rest of this community. What do you think about what Will is saying?"

"I think he's right about it being too severe a punishment," Kathy said.

"Yeah, but they knew the rules," Nathan said. "You don't go changing the rules every time you don't like the consequences. What if they'd had drugs here, or weapons? Would you be saying the same thing?"

"But that's different," said Stacy. "If someone had weapons or drugs here, they would have had to deliberately bring them from home. I don't think either Liz or Anna came here thinking they were going to fight. They probably didn't even wake up this morning thinking they were going to fight. It just happened."

"You make it sound like they had no choice in the matter," Mike objected. "No one made them fight each other. They had a choice. They could have stopped it before it happened."

"I think Stacy has a point," Abner interjected. "How many times this week have some of us gotten really heated with each other? It could have happened to any one of us."

Mike shook his head. "So you're saying there should be no consequences?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Will said. "I'm just saying that the consequence doesn't have to be as harsh as kicking them out."

"What would be an alternative?" Paul asked.

Will looked around and bit his lip. "I don't know."

Sheila held up her hand. "Let me stop you for a second. I think this is a discussion that needs to continue. I'd like you to continue it to a resolution. I want you to decide whether or not Liz and Anna should have to leave the program, and if not, what the alternative would be. You can decide how you want to decide—whether by vote, or coming to a consensus or some other way. I'm going to let you hammer this out. Will, I want to talk to you."

Will was startled for a second as Sheila motioned him to follow her. He kept looking back toward the lounge as they walked toward the remaining free dorm room. When they entered, Sheila left the door ajar and asked Will to sit on the bed, while she leaned against the desk.

Will's anxiety was sky-high. He had no idea how the other students would decide Liz and Anna's fates, and he wouldn't be there to argue in their favor.

"I see you keep looking back, Will. I think you're worried about how this is going to turn out. I'm wondering why you're so concerned."

When Will didn't answer, Sheila held up her hands. "No one's talking today! Will, I think I already know the reason, but I want to hear you say it. You're an adult now. Act like it."

Will looked up at Sheila. "I think they might have been fighting about me."

In a gentler tone, Sheila said, "I thought that might be the case. So you feel partly responsible for what happened, and don't want to see anything bad happen to the girls because of it?"

Will nodded.

Sheila sighed and spoke softly. "Will, I've been watching you sending mixed signals to both Anna and Liz all week. Didn't you realize that someone's feelings would get hurt? And now I have two young women crying their eyes out in the next room because of it."

With his elbows resting on his knees, Will lowered his head into his hands. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He'd been confused about his failed attempts to communicate his attraction to Liz, and it had seemed easier to retreat and hang out with his friends, which included Anna, rather than expose himself to possible rejection and ridicule.

"I'm really disappointed in you."

Will raised his eyes to Sheila for a moment, and then lowered them again. He respected Sheila, and her words were painful.

"Will, you showed so much promise when we accepted you into this program. Do you remember what you talked about in your interview?"

"My dad," Will said quietly.

"That's right; your dad. You talked about his integrity, his hard work, the way he served other people. And you talked about how much you wanted to be like him. I haven't seen any of that in you this week."

"I work hard," Will said, without much conviction.

"Maybe on the track," Sheila said. "I don't think you work hard anywhere else in your life. You pretty much coast through life on your talents and your looks. So here's my advice to you: stop coasting. And please stop playing with the feelings of these young women, whether it's Anna or Liz or anyone else. Instead, why don't you take some time to think about how you can build your character, and become the man you want to be, a man like your father."

Sheila rose to her feet, while Will lowered his head even further into his hands. As Sheila reached for the handle of the door, she paused. "By the way, I think this morning was a good start. I think that speech you made out there is something that your father would have been proud of." She opened the door, and gently closed it behind her.

After she left, Will tried to will himself not to cry. When he felt tears forming, he squeezed his fingers into the corners of his eyes to hold them back.

He missed his dad. He missed him so much. His aunt Lois had said something to him after his father's funeral, when he had told her it wasn't fair that he was gone. "You had a father who loved you for almost sixteen years, Will," she said. "Some people never have that."

Sometimes that was enough to get him through the sorrow, but not always. He had felt the loss most acutely on his eighteenth birthday in February. He had become a man, and his dad wasn't there to see it.

Even worse, his dad hadn't been there to teach him how to be a man. He had no idea he was doing. He couldn't even tell the girl he loved that he loved her without screwing that up.

Liz. No wonder Liz hated him. He had treated her horribly, not just today but going back to the first time they met in the fall. He doubted that there was anything he could do to make things right with her, but maybe he could explain about Chuck and George and she wouldn't think he was such an awful person. The thought of exposing what had happened to Jenny to someone outside the family scared him, but the thought of Liz hating him scared him more.

He'd take a shower and change clothes, and then take a walk this time, to the spot by the lake where he had hoped to first tell Liz how much he liked her. He would think about what he could say to her, probably in an email, to help fix the mess he had created.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Late Sunday Morning**

About an hour later, Will was leaning against a tree by the lake when he heard his name. He looked up to see Paul standing nearby.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked.

Will nodded.

"Do you want to talk?"

Will shook his head.

"OK, then. You're late, by the way. Everyone is on the bus waiting for you. Why don't you run and get your stuff so we can get going?"

Will stood up and started walking toward the dorm.

"I said run, Will."

He turned and looked at Paul. "OK, I will. Can I ask you first what happened to Liz and Anna?"

"Your classmates agreed with you. They decided they could stay. They'll have to do a community service project as an alternative consequence."

If Will's heart hadn't felt so heavy, he would have smiled. He turned and ran back to the dorm, gathered his bags, and raced to the bus. He didn't want to look at anyone or talk to anyone as he boarded.

When the bus arrived at the University of Meryton campus two hours later, his mom and sister were waiting for him. "How was it?" his mother asked as she hugged him.

"It was okay," he answered.

Jenny, perceptive as always, asked if he was all right. Will nodded.

He suddenly spotted Liz, standing about fifty feet away from him. Her parents were nearby, talking to Sheila. Liz was something of a mess, with scratches and swellings on her face, an ACE bandage wrapped around her ankle, and a cane. Yet she still looked beautiful to him.

Liz caught his eye, and her expression wasn't one of anger or hatred, merely thoughtful. "I love you, Elizabeth Bennet," he thought, as she turned away.

**THE END**

If you enjoyed this story, you may enjoy my other stories in the "Lofty Dreams" series (all posted at this site):

"Lofty Dreams" – a modern Pride & Prejudice

"The Picnic" – Will and Liz's post-Hunsford reunion, from Will's POV

"Touch Me Again" – a sequel to "Lofty Dreams," set 10 years in the future

"Images and Illusions" – Will's mother's story

"Mr. and Mrs. B" – Liz's parents' teenage romance


End file.
